Prof Anuradha Par - The learned speaker began by thanking the assembled dignitaries and then by informing the viewers of the importance of not only this session, but the two sessions that will succeed it as well.

Prof Dr R Chitnis - The learned speaker began by thanking those assembled as well as the importance of the session. He spoke of how destructive the pandemic has been and how economies have been severely affected. He spoke of the importance for the media and entertainment industry to evolve themselves in tune with the fact that due to the pandemic the entire world seems to have shifted themselves online. He postulates that fake news and deep fakes are all about how certain journalists are responding to the reduction of the economy along with its correlating job losses.

Prof Amitabh Srivatsav - the learned scholar began by informing the viewers that he will be addressing the session in both english and hindi. He then took a very pragmatic approach by illuminating to the viewers that there is tremendous growth in digital media, marginal growth in television viewers and a negative growth for print media. He then addressed the fact that the dynamic of income, the largest chunk of which is derived from advertisement for all these three verticals, ensures that the best return for the cheapest price occurs in the digital realm. He further goes to state that he believes eventually only digital media will survive. He states that this is the reason why the quality of journalism, specifically print journalism, has been affected to the extent that they will pander to their advertisement sources due to their growing paucity over ethical considerations. He postulates that the perspective of these journalists must be considered if a lasting solution is to be found.

Asit Kumar Modi - The learned speaker took a very tangential and refreshing approach by stating that before the pandemic, digital media was already catching on just as cell phones caught on. During the pandemic a peculiarity was noted in the viewership patterns of the people, namely, that they were now watching shows which were family, morality and ethicality oriented. Old shows, which do not offer great direction or cinematography, were watched and rewatched. Shows such as Mahabharat, Ramayana and even ‘Tarik Mehta Ka Ulta Chashma’. He states that the pandemic has brought us all together and the shows which will dominate the industry henceforth will be family and value oriented shows. He belies that this positivity will now bind us together further still and usher in another media bloom.

Nalin Verma - The learned speaker spoke about the economic impact of Covid on the entertainment industry. He states that due to a loss of buying power due to economic slowdown, the individual consumer is spending less on goods. This, in turn, is effecting conglomerates in theri functioning and since it is these large corporations own the large media houses, it is obvious that the media industry will be impacted. However, this is also giving rise to small and independent media outlets and is also giving impetus again to good content. The different formats of media will evolve but eventually, content is the key to media and its generation shall always ensure the continuity of this format of human expression, irrespective of the pandemic impact.

Dr Sushil Kumar Sharma - The learned speaker spoke of how he believes that Covid-19 was the boonn that all media people have been waiting for as it is ensuring a loosening of the monopoly over content and its distribution since digitization as digitization is ensuring a fairer and cheaper dispersion of content with the allowance of numerous verticals through which we can enjoy the content. This also ensures that for every content expression vertical such as podcasts, radio, TV, video, etc require their own personalizations to match the medium and this will act as a job multiplier for the entire media industry. He stresses that we must be innovative to understand the requirements of our audience, of which the internet has assured about 7 billion.